Made with Love
by KittyKait
Summary: Sharon asks Brenda to help her make something special for Rusty.


**Authors Note:** Prompt for this story was **"** **I made this for you "**. Taken from the "100 ways to say I love you" prompts found on Tumblr. Once again, this is essentially Mothership, but it didn't quite turn out how I had originally intended. This story is technically a sequel for an earlier story of mine. "The Other Sharon" but it also works as a standalone story as well. I do hope you enjoy, but if not, be sure to let me know. Constructive feedback is always welcome. All mistakes are mine.

 **Summary:** Sharon asks Brenda to help her make something special for Rusty.

 **Disclaimer:** Major Crimes is not mine. Probably for the best really…J

Sharon looked at her watch and groaned. 3:25pm. There was no way she was going to get everything done in the office and still make it home to bake the cake she promised herself she would make for Rusty tonight. After the disaster that was November 3rd last year, Sharon vowed she would make it up to Rusty this year. She had planned a meal with all of his favourite things and so far nothing was going as she had hoped.

She grabbed her cell from her desk and quickly scrolled through her contacts until she found the number she was looking for, before lifting the receiver on her desk phone to make the call.

"Hello?" came a hesitant voice from the other end.

"Brenda, it's me, Sharon."

"Oh, for heavens sake Sharon, what are you doing callin' me from a landline?" She sounded exacerbated and Sharon briefly wondered what it was that she had interrupted.

"I need a favour, what are you doing right now?"

"Well, right this minute I'm…."

"Brenda, please," Sharon interrupted her.

"What exactly do you need me to do, Captain?" Brenda almost laughed at the thought that Sharon of all people needed her help.

"I need you to go to my condo and prepare dinner for Rusty and myself, tonight."

Brenda nearly spat her coffee across the table. Was this woman serious?

"Sharon, it's me, Brenda Leigh. Have you met me? What makes you think I can cook?" Brenda was openly amused now.

"You can read can you not?" Sharon almost groaned.

"Well yes of course I can but what does that have to do with it?"

"Recipes, Brenda Leigh! All you have to do is read the recipe. I need to make this special for Rusty tonight and I won't get home in time to prepare things unless you help me."

Brenda sensed the hint of desperation in the older woman's voice and resigned herself to the fact that she was now going to be spending her afternoon in Sharon's condo preparing God knows what to the Captain's ridiculously high standards. Boy was Sharon in for a shock.

"Of course I'll help you, Sharon, but I just have one question."

"Yes?" Sharon drawled from the other end of the line.

"Why me? Of all the people you know why did you possibly think it was a good idea to ask me?"

"Because, Brenda Leigh, all the other grownups I know have day jobs." Sharon tried hard to keep the smirk out of her voice, but suspected she had failed miserably.

Well, that didn't sting at all, Brenda though to herself a she twirled a blond curl around her finger.

"Are you still there, Brenda?"

"Yes, yes I'm here. I'll help you Sharon, but next time you might want to leave the insultin' until after I've done what you need."

"You did ask," Sharon replied dryly

Brenda supposed Sharon had her there; she did indeed ask. She also supposed Sharon was just telling the truth; after all that was what the Captain did best. Tell the truth.

After a few more instructions from Sharon, Brenda ended the call and made her way to the counter to pay for her coffee and the extra muffin she had ordered and headed out of the little coffee shop to go and try her hand at baking. She was certainly good at eating cakes so how hard could it be to make one? She guessed she was soon about to find out.

Across town at Parker Centre Sharon sat at her desk and hurried through the rest of her paperwork whilst praying to whomever was listening that there were no more matters that would require her attention that day. She smiled to herself at the thought of Brenda in her kitchen trying to bake a cake and suddenly she wished she could be there to see it for herself

Next thing she knew there was a knock on her door and she looked up just as Detective Sanchez poked his head in.

"Yes, Detective?"

"You asked me to let you know when Rusty got here, Ma'am," Julio replied.

"I did? Oh yes, that's right. I did. Thank you, Julio"

Sharon glanced at her watch again and noted with some frustration that it was now almost a quarter to six. Shoot, she had wanted to at least get home in time to help Brenda but now it looked like even that wasn't going to happen.

Sharon began to tidy up her paperwork into neat little stacks on her desk and prepared to leave the office for the day. She found Rusty waiting in the super cubicle when she exited her office and approached him with caution. They had not spoken about what today was. Sharon had tried to bring it up a few days ago and Rusty had shut her down. She had noticed some very odd behaviour of late and assumed it was to do with his mother's upcoming birthday but something in the pit of her stomach told her there was more to it. She made a mental note to try and talk to Rusty after they got through this day, but for now she flashed him her biggest smile and motioned for him to follow her.

The drive home was quiet. Sharon did most of the talking and Rusty just answered with one word responses or grunts. Sharon could forgive him his sullen mood today.

"Are you hungry?" She asked as they pulled into their designated car space.

"Not really," Rusty replied as he made his way to the elevator.

Sharon had to hurry to keep up with him and as they stepped into the lift Rusty added, "OK, I suppose I'm a little bit hungry. What are we going to have for dinner?"

Sharon was wondering that herself. Either Brenda had followed her detailed instructions to the letter or they would all be having takeout tonight.

"I have a few ideas," was all Sharon would say. "Let's just wait and see shall we."

As they arrived on their floor and headed down the corridor towards the condo, Sharon noted with a smirk that there was no smoke billowing from her home. That was a good sign.

Rusty reached the door first and waited patiently for Sharon to unlock it for him. When they entered they were both taken back by the sounds coming from the kitchen. Was Brenda singing?

Rusty looked at Sharon with alarm on his face. He had not expected anyone to be in their home and at first he did not recognise the voice. He reached out protectively to stop Sharon from moving further into the condo and grabbed for the umbrella in the coat stand before he approached the kitchen.

Rusty raised the umbrella high over his shoulder and approached cautiously. Sharon stood back and waited with amusement as the scene played out in front of her.

"Who's there?" he asked nervously.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Rusty. It's me. What the devil are you doin' wavin' an umbrella at me like that?" Brenda almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation and behind them Sharon did laugh. Openly because after all the two people standing in her kitchen did look a sight. One was brandishing an umbrella and the other was practically covered head to toe in flour.

"What are you doing here, Brenda?" Rusty demanded to know.

"Well, Sharon asked me to help her out with a little bakin', that's all."

"She asked YOU? Doesn't she know you can't cook?"

"That's what I said," Brenda answered with a self-couscous smile. "And yet, here we are."

Sharon moved further into the room and for the first time since arriving home, she noted the perfectly set table and the ingredients for Rusty's second favourite meal, all neatly laid out on the counter.

"Won't you join us, Brenda?" Sharon offered.

"Oh, no. I wouldn't want to intrude on your special evenin'."

"It's not a special evening." Rusty blurted and turned frantically to Sharon for an explanation.

If she was rattled by Rusty's outburst Sharon didn't let it show. "Rusty's right. It's not a special evening. I just thought it might be nice to have a meal cooked at home for a change, instead of all this take out we've been having lately, that's' all."

Sharon glared at Brenda and begged silently for her to keep her mouth shut. She could see the questions whirling through the blonde's head and she prayed Brenda wouldn't question it any further.

"OK," Rusty answered. "if you say so." With that he turned and headed for his room. "Call me when it's ready then."

"What the hell, Sharon?" Brenda demanded as soon as Rusty was out of ear shot.

"Shhh, I don't want him to hear us," Sharon replied in a rather loud whisper.

"You drag me over here to cook you a meal and Rusty couldn't even care less."

"Trust me, he cares." Sharon reached into the fridge to get a bottle of wine and poured herself an extra-large glass.

"It's Rusty's mother's birthday today," was all she offered by way of an explanation.

"Oh." Brenda finally understood. Sharon was trying to acknowledge it without actually acknowledging it. Clever. Suddenly she felt very self-couscous about her last minute decision to go against Sharon's instructions and she prayed the Captain wouldn't be too mad at her.

"So what are we supposed to do then? Sing happy birthday?" Brenda suspected that was the wrong thing to say when Sharon turned around and glared at her with piercing green eyes.

"No, Brenda Leigh. We do not sing happy birthday. You will not say one word about it unless Rusty brings it up first and until then you will be your usual witty self. Nothing more and nothing less. Understood?" Sharon arched one perfectly manicured eyebrow at the blonde and waited for a response.

"Yes, Ma'am," Brenda replied with a mock salute and Sharon pretended she didn't notice.

Together the two of them finished preparing the meal and Brenda set another place at the table for herself. Just as Sharon was carrying the spicy taco mince to the table Rusty re-emerged and together they all sat down to eat.

"This looks great, Brenda," Rusty complimented as he reached to fill his taco shell.

"Yes, Brenda. Thank you for doing this for us, I am very grateful to you." Sharon acknowledged with a small nod in Brenda's direction.

"Oh, it was no trouble really, I'm unemployed at the moment remember, it's not like I have anythin' better to do." She smirked as she said it and Sharon recognised it for the dig that it was and smiled in return.

The meal continued on in a semi comfortable silence. Sharon and Brenda did their best to carry the conversation and Rusty sat quietly listening as he ate his tacos. They were only interrupted when the sound of the oven timer went off.

"It's still in the oven?" Sharon demanded to know.

"Well yes, Sharon, it is still in the oven," Brenda replied evenly. She disliked the insinuation that she had made a mistake and calmly stood up from the table and moved into the kitchen.

Rusty looked between Sharon and Brenda and frowned. "What's still in the oven?" He asked with curiosity.

"Sharon thought it might be nice if I baked a cake to go with dinner tonight," Brenda began to explain. "But well, there were seventeen different instructions just for the cake alone and it was kind of overwhelmin' so I decided to compromise."

Benda returned to the dining table carrying a steaming hot dish and placed it down on the pot holder in the centre of the table.

"I made this for you." She smiled nervously as she looked directly at Rusty. She could feel Sharon's eyes burning into her back and she refused to look at her.

Rusty blinked in disbelief as he looked at the Lemon Delicious pudding sitting on the table in front of him. "How did you know?" he whispered. The tears stung behind his eyes and he blinked furiously to keep them at bay. Rusty refused to cry in front of Brenda.

Brenda remembered back to that night in her kitchen when she had taken Rusty home with her. He had mentioned that evening that Lemon Delicious pudding was his favourite dessert ever because it was the only thing his mother knew how to make. Had she known today was his mother's birthday she might not have been so eager to make this for him and she silently cursed Sharon for not giving her all the details beforehand. Oh, that woman!

"Have you forgotten I used to be a detective?" was all she said and Rusty smiled for the first time that evening.

"I don't understand," Sharon interrupted. "What am I missing here?" She leaned forward to peer into the dish and got a smell of the strong lemon scent as it wafted up towards her. "What happened to the cake, Brenda Leigh?"

"As I was sayin', it appears I'm not a baker after all, but fortunately the only thing my Mamma taught me to make just so happens to be Rusty's favourite dessert. It musta been fate. Don't you think?" Brenda turned to Rusty and gave him a wink.

Sharon looked at Rusty from across the table and noticed the tears glistening in his eyes. At precisely that moment he stood abruptly from the table and announced he needed more water, despite the nearly full pitcher of water still on the table. Sharon let him go.

In the kitchen, Rusty stood at the sink with his back turned away from the dining table, and desperately tried to control his emotions. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, and he allowed himself a few moments to let them fall. From behind, he felt Sharon's hand on his shoulder and he took a shuddering deep breath.

"I thought you had forgotten," Rusty whispered.

"It's important to you, Rusty. She will always be your mother and for that reason alone, I will never forget," Sharon soothed as she rubbed small circles across the boy's shoulder blades.

"Do you think she's having a nice day?" Rusty wondered aloud.

Sharon honestly had no idea what Sharon Beck might be doing for her birthday but she wasn't about to let Rusty know that. "I'm sure she is, honey," she reassured him as she gently squeezed his shoulder.

"Well come on you two, it's getting' cold over here." Brenda beckoned from the dining room table.

Sharon watched as Rusty pulled himself together and turned to meet Brenda with a smile on his face. She could tell he was still battling with his emotions but she appreciated that he was at least trying to be happier. He turned back towards her, mouthed "thank you" and then headed back to the dinner table.

Sharon made a mental note to thank Brenda again for her part in cheering Rusty up but she would do that later. Right now she was curious to taste this creation that Brenda was currently boasting to Rusty about. With a smile she crossed the distance and joined them both at the table. Maybe today hadn't turned out so bad after all.


End file.
